David Johns l, is President Barack Obama’s choice as the first executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. By Renee Schoof | McClatchy Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON All through his years of schooling, David Johns was one of the few African-Americans in his classroom, from the high school in Los Angeles that was nearly an hourlong bus ride away but that his mother insisted he attend to Columbia University in New York.

Even when he taught elementary school in Manhattan, not a single black student sat behind one of the desks before him.

OVERSIGHT | The New York Police Department’s 26th Precinct in Manhattanville. Local politicians applauded a decision by a federal judge that appointed a monitor of the department. BY CASEY TOLAN, AVANTIKA KUMAR,?Spectator Senior Staff Writers,?August 12, 4:14pm

A federal judge ruled on Monday that the New York Police Department’s stop and frisk policy violated the constitutional rights of minorities, a major victory for Upper Manhattan politicians, who have unanimously opposed the controversial tactic.

While Judge Shira Scheindlin did not order the end of the controversial practice, in which police officers stop people they suspect may commit a crime and frisk them for illegal weapons or drugs, she appointed lawyer?Peter Zimroth, CC ’63, as a federal monitor for the NYPD, and called for several other checks on the department.

ABOUT RE:LIFERe:LIFE Inc. is a Harlem-based non-profit that works to help the youths and young adults of New York City realize their full potential by empowering them through education and entrepreneurship. Re:LIFE was established in April of 2010 to address the educational and socioeconomic needs our target communities and to assist in the successful transition of our youths to a better life. All our educational programs are composed of stimulating activities and materials that are organized around well-developed curricula.

MENTORING OPPORTUNITY: URBN YOUTH START PROGRAM
Re:LIFE is looking for mentors to be a part of our upcoming URBN Youth Start-UP (UYS) Program. This initiative is an intensive 15-week entrepreneurship program in partnership with Carver Federal Savings Bank. The goal of UYS is to expose students to entrepreneurship and financial literacy; students will identify a problem their communities and develop a business solution for this problem. By the end of the program, students would have development a business plan and should be able to implement their business solution in the communities.

UYS runs from September 4th to December 20th. Applicants to this program must be at least 16 years of age.

MENTORING OPPORTUNITY: RESPONSIBILITIES & TIME COMMITMENT
UYS mentors will be divided into two groups: the professional mentors and the entrepreneurial mentors. Entrepreneurial mentors will be individuals with entrepreneurial experience and are capable of providing practical advice to students based on their experiences as entrepreneurs. The professional mentors do not need to have entrepreneurial experience. Professional mentors will act as counselors and general advisors to the students. Each student group will be paired up with one professional mentor and entrepreneurial mentor.

Summary of mentor responsibilities:
– Work with proteges on projects and business plan
– Attend one mentor meeting per month
– Teach at least one life skill session of your choice; sessions are 45-90 minutes long
– Communicate with Re:LIFE at least once every other week about students’ progress